Paheli (2006)

"Paheli" the film is based on the story "Duvidha" written by the Vijaydan Detha. The film set in Rajasthan tells the life of a chirrupy Girl married to money minded man who leaves her on the wedding night to set out for business.  A ghost loves her madly and takes the form of her husband. Paheli traces the dilemma of the girl, as she had to choose between the unbridled love of the ghost and an insensitive husband.

Paheli is a beautiful film based in Rajasthan with the dialogues also in the local Marwari dialect. The film is produced by Sharukh’s home production company Red Chillies Entertainment and directed by the critically acclaimed director Amol Palekar.

Paheli was the official Indian entry for the 2006 Oscars in the foreign language category. The Film was extensively shot in various parts of Rajasthan including famous tourist destinations across Rajasthan.

Locations: Jaipur, Jaisalmer, Abhaneri, Sainswas and Nawalgarh town from the Shekawati region among others.

Hotel Narain Niwas Palace located in Kanota Bagh, Narain Singh Road, in the heart of Jaipur was the place where at the terrace of this heritage hotel a marriage song and dance sequence  was pictured on Rani Mukherjee.

Another interesting sequence of the film involving Rani Mukherjee along with Shahrukh was shot in the Raja Rai Singh’s Mahal at Todarai Singh located 60 km west of Tonk.

The camel race shown in the movie where Sunderlal(Sunil Shetty) looses out to Thakur  and after 4 years Bhanwarlal`s (Anupam Kher)camel wins to reclaim the lost pride was shot in the expansive deserts of Jaisalmer.

Rani Mukherjee’s stepwell scenes were shot at Chand Baori built in 8th century by King Chand in the village of Abhaneri near Bandikui district Dausa some 95 kms away from Jaipur on the Agra Road. This geometrically patterned step well is about 65 feet deep, consists of around 3500 narrow steps and 13 landings to the water.

Finally Paheli also captured magnificently the ancient “ Havelis” with frescoes in the Shekhawati region with shooting taking place at Sainswas village and Nawalgarh town.

Legendary Amitabh Bachchan who did a cameo in Paheli produced by Shahrukh Khan`s own production house Red Chillies Entertainment reportedly did not charge any amount for his narration and appearance